Oct

And the sun goes away

According to an e-mail from Teachers College President Susan Fuhrman dated 3:35 PM today (and now WNBC), a hangman’s noose was found on the office door of an African American faculty member. Her full message is reprinted after the jump.

A meeting started at 9:00 PM in Earl Hall for student reactions, and tomorrow (Wednesday) President Fuhrman will hold an open meeting for students, staff, and faculty at 3:30 PM in Grace Dodge Cafeteria at Teachers College.

Somehow I don't believe this, like it's going to turn out to be some cable that draped from the ceiling or something. Anyway no real Columbia student would have the balls to do this, probably some pissed off anti-Amedhahoweveryouspellhis fuckingname folk

I find it disturbing that TC would say this act "violates every... norm." That is one of the most intellectually irresponsible, mealy-mouthed education weakspeak statements that I've heard in some time. Fuhrman should be ashamed of herself for being so inappropriately gentle in response to hate and intimidation.

wow i am appalled at some of these responses clearly these are mostly white males which is why they seem to think that racism is some theoretical term. why is it so hard to believe that someone affiliated with columbia would do this? have we already forgotten about the whitey kill blackey cartoon in the FED or the racist, anti-semetic, homophobic graffiti in ruggles the yr b4 last? i mean really. open ur fucking eyes.

overreacting. I love how this place is supposed to create graduates that are ready to go out into the world and make a difference. Ok so there was a noose. Some jackass did this because they either 1) Really are racist and want to make a statement/impress their other racist friends or 2) This person had a personal beef with the woman and pushed the cheapest and easiest button to push. Either way no one died or was physically harmed. Regardless, there will no doubt be an insane overreaction by SHOCC et al. In many parts of the world there are people at the other end of Kalashnikov rifles that don't give a rats ass what you belive in or if you are offended by their actions. If anyone from this school wants to survive outside of the cushy bonds of Amsterdam and Broadway they should grow a thicker skin. While this was in fact the more aggregious of racist incidents on campus it amazes me how people get their panties in a bunch over some fool spraying/writing a bunch of ignorant shit all over a door/bathroom. Everytime you make a big deal about it you give the offender exactly what he/she/they want. Just denounce it and move on. No need for more "reeducation" classes for all freshman as SHOCC would love to implement.

I know a lot of people who are anti-racism and pro-equality, very liberal or socialist, etc. but who sometimes come across as very elitist in their everyday actions/speech (how they talk about money, assumptions that everyone can afford certain things that they can afford, etc.)

Also, #44: get real. Yes, in some parts of the world people will shoot you with a rifle without caring if you're offended. Luckily for us, this isn't one of those places. Horrible things happen all over the world but it doesn't mean we should lower our social standards here. Also, presumably an incident such as this would be a big deal outside of Columbia as well. The whole 'Jena 6' controversy is happening in one of the most racially divided places in the US yet people were still outraged.

look, yes you're right. "fuck racists". it's true. at the same time, for each of my 7 semesters here there's been some fucked up incident that gets everybody hyperventiating over racism. at the same time there are probably about 100 racist incidents happening outside CU but in manhattan every day. i don't think we can walk out everytime someone says or does something insensitive. or at least not when the weather is bad. in the spring we can start walking out all the time. no wait. but seriously, the world is full of insensitive people doing insensitive things. i don't know that each of these is worth stopping the presses.

Nobody likes this kind of shit except A. racists and B. the various groups here that love these kinds of controversies. In my experience whatever of A there is, is more in terms of underlying biases than overt acts of hate like this one. But there is lots of B. Despite the fact that almost any Columbian would decry this cowardly action, we will be subjected to barrage after barrage of absurd rhetoric centering on the HUGE PROBLEM OF COLUMBIA RACISM.

I, for one, wish this school spent less time on ridiculous spectacles and more time on education. Yeah, we read dead white guys. But we're pretty diverse for an Ivy, historically speaking, and the sheer multitude of groups devoted to diversity makes the argument that we're not aware of "diversity issues" laughable. Look, we don't need courses in diversity. This is one asshole looking for attention, or with a beef with this specific prof. Let's not make this bigger than it is - that's what he/she/it wants.

If this is a just a beef, can we show that the noose is a specifically related to her race? THat is to say, what if it were just a death threat. What if this were a white faculty member; how would the reaction differ.

I understand the implications involving lynching and, more specifically, the "White Tree" incident in Jena, but it can't hurt to consider it a coincidence, if only until more evidence comes to light.

its pretty appalling that you can sit through years of college classes as part of the intellectual "elite" and still emerge less tolerant than a child. frustrating and sad, but ths problem is never going to go away. i guess it's easier for some people to feel more comfortable in the world of comfortable abstractions than in that of tolerant interaction. idiotic.

IT WAS COLUMBIA FOOTBALL WOOOOO!!!! WE GET OUR OWN LINE IN JOHN JAY SO YOU CAN SURE AS HELL BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK WE WANT TO YOUR DOOR!!!!!! WE WILL ROCK THE FUCK OUTTA QUAKER JUST LIKE WE ROCKED THE SHIT OUTTA THIS SCHOOL!!! WOOOO!!!

Honestly? If a student or faculty member is doing it, I have a serious feeling it's trolling along the same lines as the poster above. I have met some racist individuals here, but no one serious or moronic enough to sincerely utilize a noose.

1)don't do racist stuff2)punish severely the .01% who break #13)no posturing, whining, or protesting. JUST IGNORE THE STUPID PEOPLE. DON'T LET THEM WIN. if this one lady is in danger, nypd is on it. the rest of you are going to be FINE. are we stupid enough to think that some prezbo program or multi-cultural seminar is going to convince the tiny, tiny fringe of racist nutters to quit it? it's not gonna happen, so condemn severely and proceed to ignore.

[same as #83]as for the idea that it "keeps happening" at columbia...one incident every year constitutes a miniscule proportion of the student body. broad-based responses cause pain for the normal people and fail to change the true wackos. i just want to pre-empt that awkward, self-righteous, demand-for-new-columbia department/program/NSOPevent/bureaucrat phase.

Cultural competence in counseling, training, and supervision. Mental health issues of people of color in the United States and immigrants. Vocational issues of adolescents and college students of color.

Whether this will be Jenna 6 or more along the lines of the Nifong Incident remains to be seen...

Maybe if weren't so easy for one person to commit one act like this and send all of the touchy-feely PC folks on campus into a full-scale tizzy, he/she would go back to just being bored or whatever their problem is. After the protest over the racist men's room graffiti last week, I figured more trolling would be on the horizon soon. And here it is.

You know what the best response to this kind of bullshit is? NONE! Don't give the asshole the satisfaction of watching us agonize about our "community values". This shit doesn't change anyone's mind on anything. Obviously it's a cowardly, shameful, hateful thing to do. If we can find out who did it, we can punish him, and I support doing so. Until then, let's get on with our lives!

It's amazing that none of the reports on this incident have included anyskepticism from Columbia staff or students. Either they're too afraid tospeak out, or they're exceedingly stupid. Given the "tensions" being whipped up by Jena 6 media zealots, you haveto wonder whether the school or police would reveal (or be allowed to reveal)the real perpetrator of this charade.

The spirit of SDS and The Weather Underground lives on in the guise of this manufactured crisis. Take a look at how Columbia grad Mark Rudd portrays himself and his fellow 1960's Columbia terrorists in an avuncular light here:

Columbia students, please read this self-serving article and think on it a bit. My hope is that some of you will wake up to who, and what ideology, is pulling the strings and is manipulating your perceptions.

"Racial tension" has always been guided and exploited by those who stand to gain the most from it. A careful read of Rudd's brief memoir of his radical days might give rise to an examination of who, and what ideology, is promoting idiocies such as the outrage over this piece of rope and the ersatz "furor" over the Jena 6.

Left vs. right has little meaning to these puppetmasters; note that Rudd pays homage to neoconservative guiding light Leo Strauss in the same paragraph where he praises Marx. Destruction of the pillars of traditional society was- for Strauss and Marx and Rudd- the overt and sometimes covert goal. Please ask yourself: Qui bono?